Eclipse
by Saien
Summary: Post-EW, Non-yaoi, 1&R, not 1xR What if the various promises Heero's made come into conflict? What if he has to choose, at the cost of another human's life, which promise to keep? MAJOR Heero mental/emotional torture, complex plot, & character insight.
1. Do you know your enemies?

**Eclipse**

**Chapter 1**

  
  


**Author's notes:**This fanfic is meant to be read by those with a brain. -_^ You have to THINK over what a certain character's action, even something as small as a blink, might mean; I won't often come out and say so. Also, this fiction is the product of watching way too many ___Outer Limits_ and ___Twilight Zone_ shows. Most any conclusions you will draw from this chapter will probably be disproven. :D It's meant to be confusing, because I purposely put in sections that WON'T make any sense, but I guaruntee that by the end of the story, it'll be clear! Promise.

This is NOT a Heero x Relena story, it's a Heero _****__&_ Relena story. Lots of interaction between them, not necessarily romantic. Er, also be prepared for extreme angst.. ::grin::

  
  


"Foreign Minister Darlian! How did your meeting with the delegates here on L2 progress? Is it true that you are really trying to deal with the rioting by enforcing more equality laws?"

Another reporter tried to push her way to the front of the throng. "Does this have to do with the interspacial broadcast you'll be doing tonight?"

Relena Darlian, Foreign Minister of Earth, tried to find a way down from the top of the steps to her ESUN-assigned limo, and found it impossible with all the reporters blocking the way. With dimmed eyes and a polite smile, she addressed the crowd. "Please excuse me, but I must be on my way to prepare for this night's broadcast. You all will hear about this matter once it has been settled. Now please," she bowed her head, "if you'll kindly excuse me." The dour reporters still clustered in the area and begged for more information, although they grudgingly allowed Foreign Minister Darlian to be escorted by some Preventer guards to her limo. With a weary sigh, Relena sunk into the smooth leather comfort of her portable sanctuary. "Please just take me home, Pargan."

Wordlessly, her driver pulled out of the circular driveway in front of the conference buildings and accelerated out onto the colony's main highway. Relena closed her eyes and sunk back against the dark green upholstery of the limo, half resting, half thinking.

  
  


Time accelerated for Relena as she tried to rest, so that when she eventually checked her watch, she nearly jumped. The drive home, so far, was taking over twice as long as it should have. Narrowing her eyes, she quickly glanced out the windows of the backseat, and quietly clenched her hands into fists when she realized that not only did she have no idea where they were, but they were on one of the smaller side roads. It was also getting dark as the artificial lighting dimmed. This was certainly no "short cut" to her temporary living arrangements on the colony.

Relena leaned forward to see her driver. "Pargan, why are we going this. . ." her eyes widened, the man driving was too short and too young to be her aged friend. "You're not Pargan. Who are you?" she demanded.

Silence.

"Where are you taking me?" she said a little more forcefully. The driver was wearing a hat pulled down to obscure his features; Relena reached quickly to remove it. 

With perfect aim and not a flinch in his now one-handed driving, the stranger seized her wrist in a hard grip before it could reach him. Almost as soon as he did, her abductor loosened his hold and let her wrist go. Relena drew her hand back and stared at him for a moment. He'd turned towards her for a brief moment when she'd moved. 

Relena reached out again, this time more slowly, and without any movement from the driver, removed the hat. She looked at him for a moment, noting the slight though obviously disapproving frown he now wore, and then crawled carefully into the front passenger seat. Her gaze was kept focused on the road ahead, though she occasionally glanced sideways to note the stern features of her "captor". She almost smiled when she took in the formal chauffeur's uniform he wore. Though he didn't fidget, didn't pluck at the starched collar, he just looked completely unsuited to the formal wear.

After continuing on a few minutes like that, the driver spoke. "You should stay back where you can't be seen. I just recently got rid of the pursuit."

"Anyone after me would know me by this car. I doubt my seating will change matters in the slightest," she looked directly at him, and the tone in her voice strengthened, "Heero, I have to speak to the public tonight." She waited a moment for a reply; she got none. Relena continued, "I_must_, Heero. There's no other option."

Heero remained unfazed. "You're going to be targeted by an assassin at the broadcast tonight. If you died, this peace would collapse. You have to live, which means I'm relocating you to a secure position. Reschedule the broadcast."

If the ceiling had permitted it, Relena would have stood up. "Why, all of a sudden, is my life suddenly in danger? And why, all of a sudden, do you act as if it's impossible for even _you_ to safely dispatch an assassin when you act like you know all about him? Heero! I can't sit back in safety for no good reason while other lives are at risk," she said quickly, before taking a deep breath and continuing more calmly, "Threat or not, I will speak."

He finally turned to look at her, an odd light in his eyes reflecting mild surprise and curiosity. "The rioting is disruptive but at a minimal. There have been no casualties. What other lives _are_ at risk?" 

She wouldn't look at him, instead deciding to stare out the window, her unbound hair hiding her profile so he couldn't see her expression. She spoke slowly and clearly. "There are. . . certain things I can't tell you yet." She waited a moment, feeling his stare burning a spot near the back of her head. "Heero, please. . ."

He was silent for a long time, and when Relena finally turned back around, she found him concentrating on his driving again.

He spoke quietly, almost a whisper, yet with a solid intensity."Do you know your enemies?"

Her head snapped to the side quickly to face him. "I don't have enemies, Heero. Just unfortunate people I must help and convince." She waited a moment, and then continued, "Why? Do you think I don't know those who still oppose what I represent?"

"Not those who oppose what you represent," Heero glanced at her briefly to emphasize his point, "Just you."

"What?" Relena's eyebrows rose up to the edge of her bangs. "What do you mean, Heero?"

"Later," his voice left no room for argument, "We need to get you to a secure zone. No bugs."

"Bugs. . ." her voice trailed off, and with a clouded look in her eye, Relena looked out the window.

The sights she saw shocked her. Gone were the gleaming white metal that was so painstakingly polished. The metal that showed here--both the "ceiling" and the nearby colony walls that she could see at road intersections--was a tarnished gray, dull and nonreflective, shreds of paper litter drifting aimlessly. She'd never noticed such apparent apathy during her visits to any of the colonies. Normally wherever you looked there would be tree, shrubs, flowers; beautiful flora to cover up the sterile environment. Here there was no life, only automated people in drab gray wandering the streets. Strange, how she could see things clearly.

As lighting outside dimmed to a cool, dark blue grey of artificial twilight, Relena turned her head to again observe the man driving. She smiled; bittersweet. Heero was why she could see. Correcting glasses through which she could see with unbiased vision.

Her thoughts drifted back to the colony, the rioting. . . tonight's broadcast. Unconsciously, she brought her bent arm up and pressed the forearm to her stomach. Her eyes closed.

She jerked abruptly, eyes widened slightly, and she stared about her for a second. Surveying the car and her captor with a quick glance--he turned towards her, alerted by her sharp movement--until her eyes settled upon the front passenger door handle.

  
  


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  
  


Heero slammed on the breaks of the renovated old limo as Relena Darlian, Foreign Minister of the Earth, opened her door and scrambled out of the moving car. Blindly shoving the gears into parking mode in a violent move, Heero propelled himself out of the limo and raced after the running Earth delegate, abandoning the limo in the middle of the road. _It doesn't make sense_, his mind screamed at him. 

  
  


Relena jerked and nearly stumbled when he caught up with her, and her shoulder burned from the twist it received when he grabbed her elbow, effectively stopping her in her tracks. She shuddered and folded inward, squeezing her eyes shut. "Let me go, Heero."

"You're not making any sense. Relena, why?" His voice low and grating.

She made a motion to pull away, and Heero loosened his grip, though he still watched her carefully. Stepping a few paces away from him, Relena crossed her arms and stared firmly in the direction opposite of Heero, her face immediately settling into an immutable mask. "Even your warnings of an assassination attempt don't add up, Heero. You say there's a danger, yet you won't give me the specifics of it, and you act like the only course of action is to hide me away in a corner, like this one assassin is invincible to you and the Preventers. Have all your skills become so rusty that the weak ones like me are told to hide like mice?" her voice was quiet yet condescending. Her lips tightened into a grim line, the only trace of emotion on her poker face, as she continued, "You can't understand the importance of tonight's broadcast. I will speak tonight -- I have to -- and neither you nor any threat of assassination will keep me from it."

She waited for him to say something, to protest, to drag her back to the car, but he remained silent. Finally she turned to look at him, and what she saw made her inhale sharply in surprise. Yes, he was still quietly looking at her, but his eyes glittered like a dark storm of anger, determination, and. . . pain? "Heero. . ."

Immediately an iron curtain veiled his eyes, and Heero spun around, already walking back towards the car. "Come on."

Still frozen by the remnants of the glare, Relena stumbled after him, one hand outstretched. "Wait, Heero. . . please let me explain."

"I understand completely." Heero climbed into the drivers side of the car once again, while Relena slunk into the seat next to him and shut the door. 

"Please, Heero, I just--"

"Save it," he bit out scathingly. Relena jumped slightly, but he continued on in a darkly-laced growl. "We're going back to the conference center. We've wasted enough time here already." 

Relena bowed her head in silent acquiescence. As the colony slums appeared to race past her window in a blur, she mouthed silently, "_I'm sorry."_

  
  


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  
  


Relena remained quiet and unmoving as Heero shut off the engine, after they had arrived back at the conference schedule where she was supposed to make her broadcast. Heero spoke after a moment, though he still continued to focus his gaze on the steering wheel. "You have approximently forty-five minutes to prepare for your broadcast. ...My apologies for wasting your time," he added dryly.

She looked up at him. "Won't you at least stay for the speech?"

He waited a moment before inclining his head in a brief nod, dark brown bangs hiding his eyes from view. "I'm certain your Preventer guards will do their job efficiently. . . but I'll be there."

She almost smiled, but instead nodded and stepped out of the car. "Thank you, Heero," she added, before closing the car door lightly.

Heero watched her walk up the steps of the center and be escorted in by her worried Preventer guards. "Don't be so sure," he murmured, reaching inside his coat's left inner pocket to pull out a sleek black firearm. He tossed it loosely onto the dash, and stared at it with a wary eye for a long moment.

"She was right," said Heero in a strained whisper.

  
  


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  
  


"Five minutes to broadcast, Foreign Minister," reminded the conference center's event coordinator, after first knocking on her door.

"Of course. Thank you." As she had done five times in the past four minutes, Relena readjusted the collar of her formal suit. ___So important. I can't let __anything__ go wrong this time. I do hope Heero's worries were misplaced__. . ._ Relena sighed as she looked at her reflection in the small office mirror.

Four minutes. She started walking towards the conference auditorium where she would be speaking.

___At least he did say he would be here. I need him so much right now. For this speech and the coming times, I'll need all the strength I can get to carry on._ Her eyes gleamed with resolution. She climbed up the stairs to the podium, surveying the technicians preparing the cameras and lighting. 

Three minutes. She picked up a small stack of papers neatly arranged on the podium, and skimmed through it, the paperwork she'd written up for this speech. The words and facts were all memorized by now. She put them away, closing her eyes as she did so. ___Milliardo, please let this be of some help to you, wherever you might now be. . ._

Two minutes. She glanced around the room again, this time observing the people - there were only the technicians, Preventer guards, reporters being held at bay by the guards, and a few delegates. A tingle began in the back of her neck, tickling the hairs to stand on end like there was an icy breath there. On a whim, Relena looked up at the servicemen's balcony above her. She drew in a quick involuntary breath, and in a quiet voice she whispered, "Heero. . ."

"One minute and counting, Foreign Minster," reminded the same coordinator, who was still hovering nearby. Noticing her wide eyes and quiet whisper, though he did not hear what it was she said, the coordinator regarded her with a curious look. "Something wrong, Foreign Minister?"

"Wha'?" Relena blinked once, shook her head slightly, and smiled at the technician. "No, of course not. Just a little nervous, thank you." She continued smiling as he nodded, grinned, and went back to work.

As soon as no one was watching her, Relena turned again to the balcony. She felt the apprehensive tingle return full force with eye contact, and she forced back a shiver. ___It's different this time._

"Twenty seconds!"

Relena nodded, taking a deep breath - she had forgotten to breath? When? She looked down at her speech papers again.

___Please just let me finish this one last mission, Heero._

As a technician counted down from ten, Relena couldn't help but look up at the balcony one more time. Yes, Heero was still there, back in his old outfit of a green tanktop, blue denim coat and jeans.

He had his gun with him.

He was aiming at her.

  
_**  
**_

**_TBC. . ._**


	2. He could do this. He had to. ...Didn't h...

**_Eclipse_**

**_Chapter 2_**

  
  


**Author's notes: **In case you're wondering, this is set just a few months after Endless Waltz. (April, AC 197)  
Oh, and I've opted to write many, _small_ chapters for this story.. Don't look disappointed, it means you'll get them more frequently. -_^ It ALSO means lots of cliffhangers: my main purpose. ::grin::  
I suppose I should point out, too... This is an eventual deathfic. ...Okay, MANY deaths. But I'm not telling you if those are _minor_ or _major_ character deaths, otherwise it'd spoil the surprise and mystery!  
Also, I have no betareaders to help me out, so I REALLY appreciate reviews! Please?

  


With mechanistic grace, Heero slunk through the shadowed corners of hallways, past bumbling technicians, up to the auditorium's balcony. Once he had reached the curtained entrance to this first destination, he touched the fingertips of his right hand to his gun hilt, and paused with rigid posture, listening. After an immeasurable stretch of time, the shadowed boy ducked down low and, at a remarkably fast rate, slipped through the entrance with hardly a ruffle of curtain or visible sign of movement. 

As soon as he had passed through to the narrow walkway, he hid himself amongst the dark mahogany curtains. His eyes swept across the opposite walkway, up to the cameras hanging from the high ceiling, and down to the seats and stage below, where currently only technicians and a few early attendees scurried. Apparently somewhat satisfied with the results, Heero sighed on an exhale and let his hand drop from the location of his gun. He allowed himself to settle back against the curtains, nearly fully hidden by the dark, richly colored drapes. Checking his watch quickly, Heero nodded slightly to himself and allowed his eyes to slide shut. There was still time. He let his thoughts return to the previous events.   


His meeting the other day with the Chief of Preventers had gone . . . oddly. Personally, he thought Une had been rather vague and over-reactive. The mission she had asked him to accept was absurd, apparently entirely based on whims and sketchy ideas. But now? "Relena . . ." A low, soft growl in the dark. He could do this. He had to. 

Didn't he?

  
_[To protect you and the earth sphere . . . the only way I can is to fight.]_

  
Sometimes the one has to be sacrificed for the good of all . . .

_Is this such a case?_

Still aware of his surroundings, Heero pulled out his gun, cracking it open to check the bullets, snapping it closed again, and then smoothing his fingers over the sleek barrel just as he had done at least half a dozen times since Relena had left the limousine to enter the building. With a quick, almost unconscious flick of his hand, he put it back into one of his inner coat pockets. 

It slipped.

He hissed quietly and quickly, instinctually grabbed the gun before it had dropped more than an inch. A small distance, but . . . he had . . . fumbled? As he stared intently at the offending article, the muscles under his eyes bunched, slitting his eyes and pulling his face into a frown. His eyebrows drew together also as confusion mixed with the irritation in his eyes. When had he _ever_ fumbled, especially with a gun? 

Roughly yet carefully, Heero shoved the gun back into its proper resting place. _Focus._ He checked his watch, noting the time. He'd soon find out just how committed and just how correct Une was.

Deciding to risk it, Heero smoothly stepped around and out from the curtains, hardly creating a flutter in the material, and strode close enough to the walkway's edge to peer down at the people below. His gaze focused on the blonde-haired politician who had just stepped up to the podium. His hand went back to feather the material encasing his gun. Heero's eyes snapped shut, brows drawing and contorting together. He drew his hand out in front of his eyes again, critically analyzing it. He couldn't shake the nagging feeling that they should be red -- blood-soaked red. He growled a near-mute sound, shoving his hands into his jeans pockets. _I can do this. I **will** do this._ He glanced down again at Relena, noting her fixed smile, the hands that reached jerkily for her paperwork. Heero let out a breath, closing his eyes. _But I hope she's wrong._

_  
[I promised I'd protect you.]_

  
"One minute and counting!" The call from below didn't bother him, but he felt something . . . _else_, something that caused the hair on the back of his neck to bristle as if ruffled by an icy hand. Heero's eyes snapped open. H e immediately drew his gun before peering around into the shadows and once again to the other walkways. Nothing. He glanced back down at the conference and the growing crowd of reporters and delegates.

No one there noticed him . . .

Except _her_.

"Relena. . ." She knew. He was certain of it. Almost unconsciously he let his hand, his hand with the gun drop, drop and level. Leveled at her. His stare locked with hers, eyes flickering first blue, then grey; dueling. She _knew_.

Abruptly she broke the link, turning her attention back to the audience and beginning to speak. Heero's breath quickened. _It's time._ He cursed himself.

  
  


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  
  


"Citizens of the Earth Sphere Unified Nation, I thank you for your support in my presidential campaign. As you all know, I have always advocated policies of peace for the Earth and the colonies, as well as complete disarmament." Relena folded her hands in front of herself demurely, surveying the crowd of reporters and delegates that composed her immediate audience. "I was wrong."

Murmurs of consternation rippled through the audience. All of them knew of her decision on Christmas that peace was something to be fought for, but saying disarmament is wrong?

Heero fought the urge to grimace. Instead, he fingered the trigger. Part of him screamed _now_, part of him pleaded to wait and listen. While he debated internally, a slight glinting of metal caught his attention from the corner of his eye. He spun nearly 180, looking up at the man suspended above him, rifle leveled at the girl behind the podium below. Heero had one second, one precious second, to think back to Une's plan, to realize her commitment, to remember Relena's behavior, her smile. His mind screamed, he felt his very soul sink. In that second as he raised his gun to the assassin's head, the man fired. Heero fired. The podium below exploded.

Heero's shot went through the man's head, but Heero didn't notice. He whirled back around to the railing, gripping it with his free hand in a white-knuckled grasp, staring with wide-eyes over the edge.

The podium had exploded in a shower of wooden splinters, and Relena was unsteadily pushing the larger fragments off herself and rising to her feet, blood trickling from cuts. Even while the crowd screamed and reporter's cameras flashed, no security could be seen.

Mind grasping for a conclusion, anything to end the unbearable indecision, Heero's gun hand shook. Was Une right? Was Relena right? _This whole thing's in shambles. No time to choose . . ._ His gaze locked again with hers as Relena stared up into the shadowed walkways. She would know . . . Abruptly, Relena turned to her audience again, shouting now for quiet, struggling to continue.   


"Please calm yourselves! Listen to me, everyone. We are all in danger, and in order to protect ourselves we must rebuild--"

Guards were rushing to her now - Preventers. Heero straightened.

  
_[Do as your heart tells you.]_

  
Cursing himself again, Heero whipped his gun up, took quick aim, and fired.

He didn't miss.

  
_[I . . ._

_will . . ._

_kill you.]_  


  
  
  


**_TBC . . ._**

  


This is not as corny as it might seem, and everything IS for a purpose... Even the assassin. All will be explained soon! And remember... things are _not_ what they seem.


	3. "Why would I have died? The Preventers w...

**Eclipse**

**Chapter 3**  
  
  
  


******[So lately, I've been wondering**

******Who will be there to take my place**

******When I'm gone, you'll need love**

******To light the shadows on your face]**  
  


_In some strange way, it all makes sense. I'm surprised I didn't realize it sooner. No, not realize. Just accept. Maybe it took the shock of the lead in my body for me to put aside such petty vanity. To understand the practical values of life. Life. . . is it merely survival, or do we indeed push on towards higher goals, even if they might cost us our very lives? If you had asked me this just a few minutes ago, if the life in question was simply mine, then I would have answered that the one should always sacrifice him or herself for the greater good, if faced with such a decision. . . .But what if that's just another blind vanity? What if personal sacrifice gains nothing for anyone? Careless sacrifice in the form of death benefits no one. How did I believe that, without saying it aloud or not, for so long?_

_I don't want to die. I can't help anyone when I'm dead. I always knew I'd never die of something as peaceful as old age, but I didn't seriously want to die so. . . soon. _

_I used to worry over Heero for his careless treatment of his own life. I never realized that might be because I knew exactly how he felt and why. He told me his life was cheap. Never for one instant have I ever believed that idea of his. Still, if you'd asked me a few minutes ago how I valued you my own life, you wouldn't have gotten a straight answer. It stuns me now to think of how I was so much of what I saw Heero. I admired him, respected him. . . and I reflected the darker aspects of him. Perhaps that is why I'm drawn to him. We're each so tainted that we find solace in the other's presence._

_I don't want to die now that I finally understand. I still have so much to do. Heero. . . he doesn't understand. He **must** understand. They. . . they don't know what I do. Why does the darkness come now that I see light? _

_. . . Darkness._

_Heero._

_I'm sorry.  
_  


******[If a great wave should fall**

******It would fall upon us all**

******And between the sand and stone**

******Could you make it on your own?]**  
  


  
  


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
  
  


He jerked up suddenly from the laptop he'd been hunched over, spinning suddenly to face the commotion behind him. Why now of all times? Tapping out a quick key sequence on the keyboard, he deleted the file he'd been reviewing before turning around just as the door to his dark room burst open. A small form shot forward and he caught her gently by the shoulders even as she grabbed his wrists in a tight, shaking grip. Dark, purple-tinted hair clung messily to her damp forehead, and her eyes were large as she pleaded and tugged at his wrists. "Duo, Duo! They're coming! You don't have the time, please."

Duo Maxwell's lips drew to a tight line and his eyes dulled before he resignedly shrugged off his friend's grip. "Doesn't seem like it'll matter too much, will it?" He closed the case of the computer and zipped it up into a small carrying case he'd been packing with various other tools. He paused for a moment, shoulders slumping under her scrutinizing stare. "You won't be safe here either, you know. You should leave, too. Separate from me. It isn't safe for you to be associated with me anymore."

"No!" she bristled at the very thought and wagged a finger at his impassive form, though he was still turned from her. "Someone needs to stay here and delay them! They. . . they'll never think that I'll know that you've already left. I can act blissfully ignorant when I want to!" Hilde managed a wane smile. "You'll see!" Her smile dropped. "But I still think I could help out by going with you."  
  


**[If I could, then I would**

**I'll go wherever you will go**

**Way up high, or down low**

**I'll go wherever you will go]**  
  


Duo turned around to regard her with a mixed expression, eyebrows raised and eyes questioning, a grim frown still present. They stared for a moment before Duo heaved a sigh and raked a hand through his messy bangs. "We went over this. It ain't happening. Now that the people are clamoring for blood and the Preventers have issued warrants for the arrest of all the Gundam pilots. . ."

"But you guys didn't do anything! Didn't . . ."

He shushed her with a wave of his hand. "No time to go to Une and debate matters. Someone said they saw a Gundam pilot at the--the scene of the crime. But you know how jittery people can get over things like this." Even though we've never had something this widespread and traumatic before. The illusion of peace just made this mess all the worse, Duo thought grimly to himself. Suddenly, he clapped a hand to Hilde's shoulder and winked roguishly, though the mirth never made it to his eyes. "Now, that means we'll just lay low until things tide over and the real guy is caught. I'll be sure to call you before I come back so you can have plenty of time to bake me a cake for celebration, ne?"

She laughed, somewhat forced. "Chocolate, I presume?"

He managed to look offended. "As if you'd dare bake me anything else!" They both laughed at that, a strangled sound.

Neither paid any real attention to the tears coursing down her face.  
  


**[And maybe I'll find out**

**The way to make it back someday**

**To watch you, to guide you**

**Through the darkest of your days]**  
  


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  


**[If a great wave should fall**

**It would fall upon us all**

**Well I hope there's someone out there**

**Who can bring me back to you]**  
  


Her eyes cracked open, struggling to let the light in gradually to her straining retinas. She moaned - her efforts were to no avail, and her head throbbed painfully, counterbalancing the ache in her abdomen. Abdomen? Ah, but I feel pain, therefore I am. The fuzzy feeling of painkillers flooded her head with its helium like state, although it did little to truly abate the ache. She tried to sit up, only to gasp in pain as the overwhelming feeling lanced through her. She grit her teeth, barely noticing the gentle hands that eased her back until she was lying down. A moment later, after regaining her breath, she opened her eyes again. Dark blue stared back at her. She remained unfazed.

"You shot me."

He tilted his head to regard her for a moment, then absently smoothed back some hairs that had fallen in her face. "You should go back to sleep. Your wound's still bleeding."

She blinked at him. "The wound you gave me. Heero. . ." Relena's eyes widened, and she tried to jerk upright again, pushing the pain aside. "I didn't finish! They don't know! Heero, WHY?! Why did you stop me?!" She was reaching for him now, to shake him, slap him, something. He backed away, silent yet scrutinizing her with an unreadable look. She trembled, unaccustomed to the uncontrollable, raging violence that gripped her. How could he? He had no right! Now things would... would.. 

Her shoulders sagged forward suddenly, emotionally and physically drained - the pain. . . Hands didn't catch her this time. She waited a long moment in a fog of silence, neither of them either comforted or uneasy from the lack of words. Petty vanity. "We should talk." She heard the scrape of a chair being pulled up alongside the bed, and before he answered he used one hand to put a gentle pressure on her shoulder until she complied and laid back.

"We have. I need to you explain things to me now."

He mouth opened to form the words, but a mis-intake of air sent her into a coughing fit that lanced fire through the gunshot wound. Her eyes widened at the corners when she pulled her hand away from her mouth to find it sprayed lightly with flecks of blood. Her head sunk back slowly into the pillows, lost in thought as Heero methodically cleaned the blood away. She blinked once, and turned sideways slightly to watch him as he returned to the chair. 

"I'm going to die, aren't I, Heero?"

"Don't dwell on it. It'll only make the situation worse."

"Then I am." Yet now it didn't bother her. She felt calm more than anything, and only mildly surprised herself when she had to repress a dry smile.

Heero looked at her for a long moment, and Relena felt something sting her eyes as she matched the intense stare and raw look in his eyes. "What were you going to say back then?" His inquiry was softer this time.

Relena stared at the ceiling for a long moment before replying. "I need to show you something, a voicemail I received just two days ago. If you could. . ." she trailed her sentence off uncharacteristically as Heero rose to retrieve a laptop computer from a table in the corner of her room. After all, she reasoned with herself, the less she talked the better her chances of living longer. Besides... with Heero, words usually only got in the way of a conversation.

As he returned to the bedside and started to log on, she glanced around the room they were currently in. It wasn't familiar to her, and it certainly wasn't a hospital. It looked more like a regular room in a house, if it weren't for the lack of windows. The air was faintly damp as well, so she reasoned that she was most likely in someone's basement room. Heero's? Frankly, she couldn't imagine Heero even owning a house or anything remotely that permanent. "Heero, where are we? Wouldn't a hospital be more appropriate?"

His eyes flicked sideways to hers for a moment before refocusing on the screen as his fingers typed out the proper code encryptions. "You'd be dead by now if I'd let them take you to a hospital."

She blinked, recalling their conversation earlier in the day. . . or had it been yesterday? She had no idea what time it was. "So. . . you kidnaped me." She seemed amused now by the turn of events, but it quickly faded, morphine high or no. "But the Preventers were there... I remember seeing their paramedics there, vaguely..."

"Exactly." A cold feeling buried its way in amongst the fire in her stomach. Something about the way he'd said that... Heero looked at her again, having finished logging into her online vidmail account. "Mail first. Which one is it?"

Relena shook off her confusion, and pointed the most recent one, originating from the Mars Orbiting Science Station. While they waited for it to download, she recalled something odd. "You didn't ask me for my password, and it didn't take you very long to get in." Heero was one of the best of hackers, but surely he wasn't **that** fast.

Another eye flicker in her direction, somewhat lazily this time, and an almost, almost amused ember in the dark blue. "I guessed." Relena blushed. *(1) 

A moment of embarrassed silence later, on Relena's part at least, the download finished. A tinny, audio-only recording began to play.

Despite her injuries, she spoke as the recording played, highlighting certain points, explaining certain areas. Heero sat in stony silence, not even seeming to notice when the young politician's voice started to crack.

By the time it was finished, Relena had curled up into a ball on the bed, hiding her face in her hands. 

Heero remained where he was, staring blankly at the flatscreen monitor. He blinked a few times, took a breath as he remembered to breath... and then let his forehead fall into the palm of his hand, eyes wide and unseeing.

What had he done?  
  
  
  
  
-------  


I'm evil and proud of it. ::hides from objects being thrown her way:: I PROMISE the next chapter will explain almost everything.. Almost. Can't spoil all the fun at once. If you have any ideas as to what's going on here, I'd love to hear them. I've given away enough hints that the basic gist of the real plot can be figured out.. sort of. -_^

"Wherever You Will Go" is © The Calling. The lyrics will make more sense and fit better after the next part. Promise. -_^  
  


* 1. Heh... Relena's password: heeroyuy


	4. Author: I'm not dead yet

Oh my poor readers. I'm so sorry. This is what happens when real life rears its ugly head and bites you in the bum.

After having graduated college, moved halfway across the country, and struggled to establish a career, I dared venture into FF.N again and was shocked to find so many people looking at this story even 6 years later… I'm such a terrible person. ;

I can assure you I have forgotten EVERYTHING about the plot I was writing (I was just reading this and going, did I write this?), but am still fanatical enough about Heero's character to delve back into cracking his tortured personality. I was actually thinking about trying some Bleach fanfiction… Ichigo would be so much fun to torment as well! But let me finish this first. :) The mophead is such a fun character to pick apart.

Cheers and thanks to you all. And if there are still offers of beta readers out there… I'm in the market again. :)

--JB


End file.
